We examined the effects of noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) with functional communication training (FCT) to decrease the tangibly maintained problem behavior (PB) of a 4-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder, replicating and extending Goh et al. (2000). We implemented FCT with extinction to strengthen a functional communication response (FCR), but the removal of the preferred item evoked problem behavior at levels that interfered with teaching an FCR. We then implemented a variety of NCR variations along with FCT. Problem behavior remained low, whereas a return-to-baseline probe suggests that the participant acquired the FCR despite having access to the functional reinforcer during FCT sessions.

We incorporated an activity schedule (MacDuff et al., 1993) into schedule thinning (Hanley et al., 2014) following functional communication training in the treatment of problem behavior of a child with autism, systematically replicating and extending research on activity schedules and schedule thinning. When the activity schedule was introduced, independent engagement increased, rates of communication responses decreased, and problem behavior remained low. Results are discussed in terms of advantages of activity schedules during schedule thinning, conceptual implications for including activity schedules, and directions for future research.